Duterte's Change of Heart Triggers Deep Concerns in Washington

The Philippine leadership has signaled a tremendous shift in the country's foreign policy, opening the door to closer cooperation between Manila and Beijing. US journalist Stephen Kinzer believes that Manila's change of heart is a blowback for the US' old colonial policy toward the Philippines.

Shifting the goalposts Manila, America's longstanding ally, has turned its back on Washington and opened the door to Sino-Philippine cooperation.

"I've realigned myself in your ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world — China, Philippines and Russia. With that, in this venue, your honors, in this venue, I announce my separation from the United States. Both in military, not maybe social, but economics also," Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte told a business forum in the course of his four-day state visit to China, as quoted by Reuters.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby signaled Friday that the remarks are "inexplicably at odds with the very close relationship" between the United States and the Philippines, the Washington Post reported.

Although Philippine Trade Minister Ramon Lopez later tried to downplay Duterte's statement in an interview with CNN, by saying that in terms of economic ties Manila won't stop the trade and investment collaboration with the West, it has become clear that the country has made a shift in its foreign policy.

Larisa Efimova, a specialist in Southeast Asian studies at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), believes that the country will not abandon cooperation with the US, while trying to diversify its contacts.

"The US turned the Philippines from a poor Spanish colony into a more or less modern country. This is a fact. But Washington always considered Manila a very loyal ally. Actually, it thought this until Duterte became president. After he assumed power he began portraying himself as a man who would make no concessions in exchange for national interests," Efimova stressed in an interview with Sputnik Japan.

For his part, political analyst Grigoriy Lokshin admitted in an interview with Sputnik Vietnam that Duterte "dramatically changed Manila's domestic and foreign policy."

"His change of heart towards the US was aimed at China. Duterte wants to receive significant concessions and investments from Beijing," Lokshin underscored.

At the same time, there are signs that may mean the Philippines will no more play a role of the US' bulwark against China in the South China Sea.

Back in April 2016 US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announced that American troops and military equipment would be sent on regular rotations in the Philippines, while the two countries would also conduct joint patrols in the South China Sea.

Needless to say, The Hague Permanent Court of Arbitration's decision on the South China Sea issued in July 2016 had received high praise from Washington since the court ruled in favor of the Philippines.

However, speaking to reporters on Friday the Philippine President called the ruling a "piece of paper."

"It would not be in keeping with courtesy and goodwill if I am the one to open it. And you will say, will it take a back seat? Of course, it has to take the back seat," Duterte told journalists as quoted by Reuters.

On the same very day Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana highlighted that Manila is committed to restoring defense ties with China, Xinhua reported.

Furthermore, in mid-September the Philippine President called for withdrawal of US special forces personnel from the southern regions of the country.

Commenting on the matter, Stephen Kinzer of Boston Globe assumed that US-Philippine joint patrol operations and other military activities in the South China Sea "now seem uncertain."

"The new Filipino government has declared that it will do precisely what the United States does not want: recognize 'geopolitical realities' and begin talks with China aimed at 'peacefully settling our disputes.' There is no danger that these talks could lead to Chinese dominance over the Philippines, Foreign Minister Yasay insisted. Painful experience under the thumb of a 'white big brother,' he said, has produced a national resolve never to allow 'any other nation to bully us'," Kinzer underscored.

According to the journalist, what Washington is faced with is a "blowback for American sins in the Philippines."

"Relations between our countries began with shattering violence. Americans helped crush Spanish power over the Philippines in 1898, but rather than allow independence, the United States took the islands as a colony," Kinzer pointed out, adding that as it turns out "invasions and occupations leave deep scars."

Hello,
!

We are committed to protecting your personal information and we have updated our Privacy Policy to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a new EU regulation that went into effect on May 25, 2018.

Please review our Privacy Policy. It contains details about the types of data we collect, how we use it, and your data protection rights.

Since you already shared your personal data with us when you created your personal account, to continue using it, please check the box below:

I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of creating a personal account on this site, in compliance with the Privacy Policy.

If you do not want us to continue processing your data, please click here to delete your account.

promotes the use of narcotic / psychotropic substances, provides information on their production and use;

contains links to viruses and malicious software;

is part of an organized action involving large volumes of comments with identical or similar content ("flash mob");

“floods” the discussion thread with a large number of incoherent or irrelevant messages;

violates etiquette, exhibiting any form of aggressive, humiliating or abusive behavior ("trolling");

doesn’t follow standard rules of the English language, for example, is typed fully or mostly in capital letters or isn’t broken down into sentences.

The administration has the right to block a user’s access to the page or delete a user’s account without notice if the user is in violation of these rules or if behavior indicating said violation is detected.